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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome :( 21-Mar-2007 At 8:33:42 AM monty

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hi dave trigger points and pressure points are quite different the term pressure point refers to accupuncture or accupressure points
this is a brief description on what trigger points are

Trigger Points (TrPs) are found as extremely sore points occurring in ropy bands throughout the body. They can also be felt as painful lumps of hardened fascia. The bands are often easier to feel along the arms and legs.

If you stretch your muscle about 2/3 of the way out, you might be able to feel them. Sometimes the muscles get so tight that you can't feel the lumps, or even the tight bands. Your muscle feels like "hardened concrete".

TrPs can occur in the myofascia, skin, ligaments, bone lining, and other tissues. They can be caused by a surgical incision, as is often the case with abdominal surgery. You have probably never heard of TrPs, yet they are quite common. Each specific TrP on the body has a referred pain or other symptom pattern that is carefully documented in Travell and Simons' medical texts, "Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manuals Vol. I and II".

Myofascial TrPs can entrap the nerves, blood, and lymph vessels, causing a variety of symptoms that confuse doctors and patients alike. Often nerve damage is erroneously suspected, and many expensive, unnecessary (and often painful) tests are ordered.

TrPs are formed of multiple microscopic areas called active loci (pronounced low-sigh). These loci cause the segments of the muscle fibers, called sarcomeres, to become distorted. Eventually, a contraction knot forms, as well as a taut band. When you have TrPs, your muscle strength becomes unreliable. You may also notice that when one part of your body is supported by another part while you are sleeping, the part being compressed goes numb.

and to answer your question yes i have found it to work in the past when the problem hasn't been an impingement of the carpal tunnel i am not trying to suggest this condition does not exist but what i am trying to highlite is there can be other reasons for pain in that area my mother in law had this operation and still had this pain when i palpated on her scalene muscles the pain radiated down her hand and into the fingers a few treatments and then the pain was gone i have seen several other people who thought thay had cts who also benefited from massage and trigger point therapy all i can suggest for what it is worth palpate the scalene area (poke prod) with moderate pressure (the type of pressure which creates 8 out of 10 type pain 10 being extremely uncomfortable) and see if the pain radiates down your arm and into your problem area
and once again remember i am not a doctor so do what you do at your own risk
hope this is of some help to you
warm regards simon